‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’ (1Thess 5:16-18)
How often do I start a prayer during the day, only to be distracted after a few words! I try to give thanks, to praise, to ask healing for myself and my friends – only to be distracted after one thought, or a few prayerful words.
How unworthy of me, I think, that I am so easily distracted from a simple prayer. God is left with the crumbs of my intention, while the quotidian, the everyday, fills my mind.
We should be ashamed to give only the crumbs of ourselves to God, just as we should be ashamed of the crumbs we give in donating to the poor, the abused, human and animal, all about us. Does God see my shame?
A thought has come to me, perhaps simply to ease my soul, but again, what does God not know about our thoughts and intentions?
The thought has persisted: when we are doing research, or trying to find the true nature of someone who demands our time and trust, we look for clues to the answers, we say we follow the path of the breadcrumbs.
And now my prayer is, Oh God, please find me, follow my small patches of prayer like a trail of breadcrumbs through my day. At day’s end, even though thoughts and images fill our minds, we try to say a full prayer, Our Father, Glory Be to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, we say the prayers we learned as children. Even then, it takes determination, so often, to concentrate on one prayer without the distractions of the day, of the world, invading the tiny space we try to make for holy time.
Be with me, Lord, for if You go away, all is lost. Please, accept these crumbs of devotion, knowing my heart intends more, but how easy to give way to the distractions. My soul is found after a trail of broken patches, the breadcrumbs that I most humbly offer, to find my way to You. Amen.
Poet and writer Terence Alfred Aditon is a frequent contributor to the Magazine.